DIY Growth Chart

If you haven't noticed already, I am a tad sentimental and I love to document all the sweet milestones and memories of my little family.  So, when I came across a board on Pinterest explaining how to make your own Pottery Barn inspired growth chart, I had to give it a shot! 

I am so happy that I did a little research on how to make my own because most ETSY shops sell these boards for around $80.00.  Here is a list of what you will need and if you already have a few of the items at home, you can make a growth chart for under $10.00!  That's my kind of project. 

~ 6ft x 9in board 
~ wood stain 
~ Minwax Polyurethane ( or wood wax)
~ Sandpaper
~ Sharpie pen
~ Paint Marker
~ Printable Stencils
~ measuring tape

Directions: 

First, Pick out your wood.  I thought it would be fun to pick out an aged piece of wood somewhere cool, but instead I sent Mike down to the Home Depot for a pre-cut board the size I needed for $8.00. Check! 

Next, I sanded the plank down with a piece of sand paper to make sure it was smooth and applied wood stain.  We had some left over stain, so I used what we had, but I think it would be fun to pick out an even darker stain and distress the wood a bit more! The hardest part of this little project was waiting for the stain to dry so I could go to the next step.  Apparently, it does not dry faster if you stare at it...

I didn't have number stencils so I just printed numbers from my computer in a Century font size 200-300.  Next, I marked along my board using a sharpie at every foot, half foot, and quarter foot.  I made my first foot marking 6 inches from the bottom of the board so that I could hang my board 6 inches from the floor and it would be accurate.  This also allowed me to have symmetry at the top and bottom of the board.  

For the foot mark, I made my line 3" long, the half foot mark 2" long, and the quarter mark 1" long. 

If you don't have stencils, I definitely recommend printing out numbers and using a sharpie pen.  This was really easy and saved me a little money.  I lined my numbers up where I wanted them on my board and then traced over the number with a sharpie pen.  It will leave enough ink on the board for you to fill it in with your paint marker.  

Okay, now for the big secret.  I read a few blogs that mentioned using sharpies to fill in the numbers.  Others recommended painting with stencils...  After running through 3 sharpies, I got a little smarter and went to Hobby Lobby!  This is the most amazing paint marker and made this project a breeze.  

After making all my marks and numbers, I let the board hang out in the garage again over night so it could dry really well and then I applied my Minwax Polyurethane.  

I am really pleased with how my growth chart turned out!  I love that I will be able to document Abigail's growth each year and in the event that we move, I can take it with me.  It's also a pretty fun and unique decoration for our home. Here's my finished project!